Monday, May 6, 2013

olivia's first month!

it took me weeks to write this blog post. sad. ah
motherhood.

(the one month photo shoot, which did take place on april 20th, was a bit rough. :))

my sweet baby girl is already one month old! (she
was on april 20th!) i can't believe it! this month has been a bit of a
total blur. i'm doing my best to treasure every moment, but man, i'm exhausted!
time is definitely flying by. my friend ellen said (or maybe lots of people say
it?), "the days are long but the years are short." so true. our days
at home together tend to feel long and exhausting, but the last month has just
sped by completely! anyway, i'll do my best to recap olivia's first month.

we came home from the hospital on march 23rd. nana
(my mom) was here with us, and nonna (josh's mom) came the next day to help.
nana left that day but ended up coming back because of snowy weather in the
mountains. so the grandmas overlapped one night before nana headed home. the
first week home we ventured out once for a check up at the pediatrician when
you were five days old. you were already past your birth weight at 7 pounds, 8
ounces! the following week nana and grandpa were back here for their spring
break. that week nana, mom, and you headed to a breastfeeding support group and
went for your two week check-up, where the doctor said you were quite
precocious, noting how strong you were! he also said you got an A+ for weight
gain because you were up to 8 pounds, 4 ounces! we also ran a few errands
and took some short walks around our apartment complex that
week. not too exciting, but mom was still quite sore from the
csection and we were just adjusting to normal life. our third week home "aunt"
amanda came from texas for a whole week! this week things really got exciting,
with some adventures out to target, penn station, biscuitville, kohl's, old
navy, and longer walks in the stroller around the neighborhood. aunt amanda
also took some amazing pictures of you while she was here! you basically had a
personal photographer for the week!

by the end of the week mom was feeling pretty
decent, and we were starting to settle into our new lives more and more. mom
was SO fortunate to have such amazing help in the early weeks of your life! the
last week of your first month it was just you and mom, and boy was mom nervous!
but, we managed! we didn't do anything too exciting, just ran some errands and
such.

here's some things mom has learned about you in
your first month...

you are super snuggly and you love to be held. you
had lots of people here to help hold you those first few weeks, and afterwards
you still want to be held by momma a lot, making it hard for me to get anything
done! you love to snuggle with daddy in the mornings after your first
breakfast, and in the evenings after he gets home.

you like your baby k'tan carrier and you usually
just fall asleep all snuggled up next to momma. your car seat, on the other
hand, is another story. i think since you don't really go out too much at the
beginning you're just still getting used to being all strapped in. you
generally don't mind it as long as it is moving in the car or stroller. but you
might start screaming if we sit at a red light too long!

you really like bath time! you tolerated your
sponge baths but you really like reclining in your little tub in the sink! your
favorite part is getting your hair rinsed. you just love to be warm!

you also like your passy, but you're not addicted
to it. it's really something we resort to when your fussy. speaking of fussy,
you can be fussy. sometimes dad and i just can't figure out what you want! mom
has definitely shed some tears trying to figure out just what it is you want,
and i think sometimes you get pretty gassy or something. in the end you always
calm down and go to sleep!

speaking of sleep, you've been mostly sleeping at
night since day 1, meaning you've never seemed to have your days and nights
mixed up. you do like to go to bed later and sleep later into the morning, in
addition to your sporadic naps in the day. usually (not always) at night we get
one four-ish hour stretch and then a couple more two to three hour stretches.
of course sometimes you just want to eat all night it seems, because you
definitely love your momma's liquid gold! you love it so much that you weighed
a whopping 10 pounds and 10 ounces at your 1 month checkup!

olivia, mom and dad love you so much and we feel so blessed to be your
parents! we're so glad God picked us to raise you because you are truly
amazing! we can't wait to see what the future holds and what kind of child and
woman you'll become (but don't grow up too fast!).

about me

i'm a wife of 6 years and new mom to our beautiful baby girl! my family lives in north carolina, but are blessed with great extended family and friends around the world that we want to stay in touch with!